This project is in partnership with FrogTape®. They allowed us to choose a small space to makeover and provided us with painting supplies and $1000 to execute our vision. Vote for your favorite here.

We’re so excited to share the after photos of our cabin reading nook today, as well as the budget breakdown and how you can win $1000 to kickstart your own room redo, too! The beautiful, raw, warm wood (part of which was a complete surprise to us!) really ended up being the star here, I think.

We taped off all the trim and ceilings and were left with this incredible contrast between painted wood and raw wood with sharp paint lines thanks to FrogTape®.

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Now the nook looks like this!

As a reminder, it used to look like this!

Here’s a gif to save you a scroll:

When we started this project, we wanted to give this space a cozy feel, but also a purpose and a function. Now we can imagine ourselves and our guests curling up with a good book, or bird/bear watching for hours from right here. And that ceiling! Gah. Read more about that discovery here. This has really been the perfect project to kick off our cabin renovation.

Here’s another before and after straight on:

The other eyesore that we wanted to address when tackling this space was the the breaker box. To conceal it, we painted it with a few light coats to match the walls. And then hung this macrame wall hanging from Urban Outfitters I ordered to decorate our intern’s dorm and they accidentally sent two (and told me to just keep it! score!). It really adds interest to this wall, conceals the breaker box and is easily removed if we need to access it.

We’ll definitely share the rest of the room with you soon. Paint is magic, truly. And I love the mix of this color (Valspar’s Victorian Tapestry) with all the wood throughout the room.

*If you follow me on Instagram, you may have seen that I was DIYing my own fabric very similar to this! It came back in stock at a good price and I thought, for the bench cushion, it would be nice to have something perfect, but I plan to use the fabric I made for curtains on the other side of the room. I’ll share more on that soon!

Obviously the pillows were a big splurge, but we were so under budget that we could swing it. (I had the gray faux fur one in my stash. along with a lot of the little decor pieces I lined the shelves with.)

Now for the fun part! FrogTape® has turned this into a friendly, charitable competition among the 6 bloggers participating in the FrogTape Paintover Challenge®, with perks for you, too! You can vote for your favorite makeover (fingers crossed it’s ours!) every day through June 1st. When you vote, you’ll be entered to win FrogTape® product and a $1000 Visa gift card to kickstart your own room makeover. And whichever blogger’s room wins–gets $10,000 to donate to the charity of their choosing! (We have chosen the Dave Thomas Foundation, if you’re curious). Vote right here!

Missed a part of the process? Check out:

• All the before photos and mood board here. • How we found that cool ceiling and exposed it here. • Painting and how we built the shelves here. • A video tour of the A-frame here.

February 6, 2019

55 COMMENTS

Kristina

8 months ago

I love this look! Can you share what type of wood you used for the shelves, and how wide that span is? I am looking to do something very similar in my home but I am having a tough time figuring out the proper wood to use to prevent any sagging in the shelves. This space looks to be approximately the same size as mine. Thanks!

8 months ago

The boards we used are linked in this post. This span is about 70in or so, but with the support all along the back wall it helps keep it stable. But you also need to be aware of the load you add to the shelves – we try to spread out the weight a bit.

Jess

8 months ago

9 months ago

What paint sheen did you use to paint the shelves? Whenever I paint shelves in the past I have used semi gloss but it always seems to peel off when I put books and baskets on the shelves. It peels off fairly quickly!

9 months ago

Erica

10 months ago

You’ve been my favourite blog to read and favourite bloggers for a looong time, I’m so impressed with what you do! But that much money on cushions is 😱😱. Can’t wrap my head around that choice? A lot left in the budget = something you could have done a lot with

10 months ago

Lauren

10 months ago

Bravo! What an incredible job! You guys always pull a thoughtfully composed design together. Thank you for the journey. One question; will the exposed bulb be too harsh for reading? I know you love your bulbs, you probably thought this through. Fingers crossed that you win.

10 months ago

Julie

10 months ago

I love your blog! I’ve just discovered it and spent the last two weeks reading through all the archives . I have so many ideas for my house. I’m sad that I’ve caught up and have to wait for new posts now, but keep up the good work! :)

10 months ago

Sam

10 months ago

So cozy. The paint color just transforms this space!

Are the books from your own collection? Sometimes I feel like going to a thrift store and just buying books based on how they would look on my bookshelf lol! Any tips for finding inexpensive books/statement pieces?

Johanna

10 months ago

10 months ago

Painting around pine is very unforgiving. If you get even a drop on the wood, it soaks the paint in and then you have to sand it down. Whereas paint over paint can be fixed. We needed to be exact as possible, to avoid having to sand and do it again.

Jen

10 months ago

Keltie

10 months ago

Stacey Soden

10 months ago

This space looks amazing! Curious: I noticed that you included a link to the cushion fabric. Julia, didn’t you DIY a version of this pattern a few weeks ago using fabric markers? Or did that design just not make the cut?

10 months ago

AUTHOR

I explained that right under the budget breakdown. I found the fabric just as I was waiting for more markers to come in so I could finish mine and I thought the fabric I made would make better curtains than a bench cushion (benches you see ALLLLLL the inconsistencies).

Julie S

10 months ago

This is truly beautiful! I love your dark painted library at home and this reading nook channels the same vibe. There will be some corner of my house that gets a moody treatment too, though most of it gets lots of sun (my favorite, and yet everybody needs a little contrast).

Question in all curiosity – where do you lean against when you want to settle in there? Seems like there is not much of a place to rest your back what with the windows and the shelving?? I pinned many reading nook pix when I was making one in my house and most of them seemed like yours, either windows or shelves on the walls and no place to lean back against! It was one of those things I thought was great for photos but less practical in real life usage.

10 months ago

Caitlin

10 months ago

Stephanie

10 months ago

Looks amazing! Did you sew the cushions? Can they be washed? I’m working on a similar window seat reading book in my playroom right now and I’m not sure how to go about dealing with the cushions. Thanks!!

10 months ago

abby

10 months ago

This is SO beautiful! I love the wall color, especially when paired with the cushion pattern. You guys did a wonderful job! I have a practical question, though. It doesn’t look like there is an easy way to lean back if you were to actually read in this area. I guess I was imagining being able to lean your back against the wall as you sat on the cushion, but, between the window on one wall and the bottom shelf on the other wall, I’m trying to figure out how you will actually lounge in here aside from straight up laying down on the cushion only. I’m sure I’m just not seeing it quite right, so I truly am just curious. Thanks for letting us know!

10 months ago

10 months ago

10 months ago

It looks SO good. Wow. Definitely voted for you guys! Out of curiosity (because we’ve recently installed some cedar raw paneling in our house, too): are you worried about the ceiling yellowing or aging over time, since it’s raw wood? I presume since you said it was raw that you didn’t treat it at all.

Molly

10 months ago

10 months ago

10 months ago

Ginger

10 months ago

Wow, this is absolutely gorgeous. Exactly the look I have been trying to do in my sons bedroom. Do you recommend this color in a small bedroom with one window? I just don’t want anything to feel too dark but this little nook of yours just looks cozy. I’m wondering if you have a lot of light coming from the other side of the wall?

10 months ago

10 months ago

You have such a knack for picking amazing colors! This is something I would typically shy away from and now I’m like where can I put this in my new home?? love it! And best of luck on the challenge! I’ll be voting for yall :)